Fountain-pen



C. R. KEERAN.

FOUNTAIN PEN.

APPLICATION FILED APII.2.I9I1.

Patented Aug. l31, 1920.

UNITED zsrArss PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES It. KEERAN, or CHICAGO. ILLINOIS, AssICNoR,:erMasiva`AssIeivivin'ivfrs,` To

THE YWAHI. COMPANY, or WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, VA CORPORATION CFDELA-WARE'. 1

FOUNTAIN-PEN.

Specification ofl Letters Patent. Patented Allg; 31, 1920.

Application filed April 2, 1917. serial Nausea-98.

To all wlw/1n t may concern: i i

Be it known that I', CHARLES R. KEERAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Fountain-Pens, of whichthe following is a specification.

My invention is a fountain pen, and particularly of the class offountain pens in which there is a rubber sack adapted tovhold supply ofink and feed the same to apen nib and also provided with means fordeflat-ing the sack for the purpose of filling it with a fresh supply ofink. f

One of the objectsof my invention isvto provide a pen of theaforementioned class,

which will hold a much larger supply of inl; than pens of the prior art,and will have a device by which the ink sack may be completely filledwith ink instead of only partially filled, as in other pens ofthiscla'ss.

A further obj ect of my invention is to provide a novel means ofretaining the lever which is used to fill the pen in either its open orits closed position. This I accomplish by providing a lever which isinthe nature of a toggle joint and arranging `the leverage so thatsaidlever will be held secui-ely in its closed `position by a force directedalong the length of the lever itself.

A further object of my invention is the provision of an intermediatestopping placev for the lever used in refilling the pen with the objectof enabling one completely to fill the ink sack instead of only topartially ll the same as in the case of the pens of the i prior art.

A further' object of my invention is the provision of a fountain penprovided with a lever device-by which the pen may be refilled withoutthe use of the customary dropper, -and by making the pen barrel having alongitudinal elliptical section. I further f provide the ink sack with asimilar' section and provide a presser bar which is normally curved toconform to the outline of the ink sack when thelsame is in its normalposition and is flexibleand provided with means for curving lthevpresseri'bar in thel opposite direction to conform to the shape of theink sack when the same is deflated for the purpose of. filling the pin.By this expedient I gain an increased capacity of the ink sack,

for, obviously, if this sack is of longitudinal bar, and

elliptical section it will afford a greater capacity for ink than if'the sack were made` with straight inside lines, as was customaryheretofore in self filling pens'provided with aleverV for the purpose ofoperating the ink sack.

A further objectl of invention is provide a means ofstiffening therubber sach ,s o that a large sack can be inserted easily into thebarrel. In thev prior art it has been customary to use a rubber sacksmall enough to be dropped into thebarrel easily.

Howeven this resulted in a very material reduction in the 'sackcapacity.

'In my hereinafter described combination,

tion willbe apparent to thoseskilled in the art and will be set forthmore particularly `in the following specification and claims:

My invention will `be best understood by.

reference to the accompanying figures, in which- Figure l is alongitudinal section of my improved pen showing the operating lever linits closed or normal position;

Fig. 2 is a viewof the parts shown in Fig.

. l, but having the ink sack deflated;

Fig. 3 is a'topfview ofv the operating lever; Figx 4 is apartialsectional view of the operating lever 'and its mounting;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the presser Fig. 6 is a detail view ofthe wire stiffeiier for the Ink sack, this view being taken at rightanglesto the view shown in Fig. 1.

- Referring to Fig. 1, it willbe seen that I have provided a pen body orcasing l0,

Vwhich isvpreferably of vhard rubber and v nib l2 and the feed bar 13.The body 10,

as will be observed by reference to Fig. 1,

)is of larger diameter in the center than at` either end. The object of;this particular shape will hereinafter be described.

for the ink yfeed (not shown), and at its rear end the plug 11 has anattaching portion 14, on which' is placed the 'elastic ink sack 15. Thisink sack, like the casing 10,

`has a larger diameter' at its mid-section than at either end andtherefore conforms to the outline of the inside l of the casing 10.Mounted in the back of the casing 10 is a spring 16, in the shape of ahook, andhaving a forwardly extending portion 17, which engages a holeA18 in the end of the presser bar 19. The presser bar 19 has in itsvrear portion a V-shapedv slot 20, which is adapted to engage the spring16 and also has riveted on it an ear 21. The presserbar is operated bymeans of 'a lever 22, whichY is pivoted in a' slot inthe casing 10 on apin'23. Mounted on the lever l 22 is a roller 24, which-is adapted' toengage a channel 29 in the presserbar 19 and also the nose 25, which Yis adapted to engage a slot 26 in the presser bar 19 and therebyhold thelever 22 in its .vertical position. The vnose 25 is adapted to engage aledge 28 on the edge ofthe ear 21, and thus serve tohold the presser barin its'raised position when the lever 22 is in its normal position.

v Referring to F ig. 1, it will be seen that when the lever 22 is in itsnormal position that the spring` hook 17 is put under tension by thepresser bar 19, and it will be also observed that the pin 23, whichforms the pivot of thelever 22, is below a line flated 'drawn from theledge 28 and the hole 18.

Therefore, the tension of the spring 16 serves to maintain the lever 22securely in its closed position.

The presserbar 19 is normally given a shape to conform to the interiorof the casing 10; that is, it is convex towardjthe lever v2.2.YHowever', when said presser bar is de- The notch 20 `serves as a guidefor the presser bar, asthe same is raised and lowered during theexpansion of the rubber sack 15. ln order to assemble my improved lpen,it is necessary to first insert the presserV vbar so that the notch 20is in'V contact with the shanlr'of the'spring 16. The presser bar isthen raised so that the hook 17 will engagein the hole 18. The lever 22kis then vmanipulated to bring the presser bar in the position shown inlF ig. 1. ln this position The .feed bar 13,contains the customarychannel the plug 11, on which is mounted the rubber sack 15, may beeasily inserted, and when in its position-,the thickness of the rubbersaclrtogether with-the stiffener 3() will presser bar 19 and the hook17. Y

. The ink sack 15 is provided with a stiffener 30. This is preferablyinthe form of a vlight piece of wire shaped somewhat .the

Vform of a hair pin and having its points prevent Ythe `disengagement,of the.

suitably held in the feed plug 13 and havbore of the casing 10 so thatit maybe easily Aslid into place. This, of course, attains the ease ofassemblage at the.` expense of link capacity.n On the other hand,l thetube "of the ink sack 15 may be made a tight fit in the pen casing 10,'in which levent while ad'-v ditional ink capacity is gain'ed,'the penextremely diflicultto assemble.

' I consider the use lofthe stiflener 30, or

the equivalent thereof, a very important" part of my inventionv and wishto claim it broadly.

Having vdescribed the vstructure -of my im proved pen, l will nowdescribe its operation .Y

vWhen the ink sack 15 is empty and it is desired tofill the pen, thelever 22, which has been held in its normal position by the tension ofthe spring. 16 as transmitted nose 25, is raised into the position shownin Fig. 2. The pen nib is then inserted into 'through the vpresser bar19, ear 21 to the an ink supply and the lever 22 is thrown y back intoits normal position shown in Fig` 1'. The ink sack 15 will then expand,drawing up the ink and partially `filling itself. It is not possible tocompletely ll the ink sack on this operation, since it will be observedfrom Fig. that when the ink-sack is defiated the forward end of saidsack con` tains a quantity of air, such, for instance, as shown in thespace 28. l/Vhen the sack expands, since the point 12 is in the' inksupply the bubble of air contained in th-e space 30L will at once go totheV highest point of the ink sack, that is, to the rear end of the pen.lever 22y cannot possibly completely lillthe sack 15, The pen is thenwithdrawn. from th-e ink and held in the position withthe feed bar 13uppermost. The air that is in the ink sack 15u/ill, of course, rise to`the top end of the sack.V The lever 22 isthen again manipulated byfbeingbroughtv to a vposition Thus a single manipulation .ofv the l -otherwisebe wasted.

where the roller 24 and the nose 25 are both in engagement with thepresser bar 19. This action will not expel any ink from the sack, sincethe top part of the sack contains only the air formeriy contained inthespace 28. However, it will expel all of the air, and if any ink isforced from the sack, it will be held by capillary attraction on thefeedbar 13 ,and pen 12. It will be observed that ate position after thesackhas beenpartially filled with ink that all of the air will be expelledfrom said sack and it will then contain nothing butinlr. The nib 12 isagain inserted in the ink-.supply and the lever 22 is restored to itsVnormalf position, shown in Fig. 1.I The sack will again expand, suckingup more inkfrom the ink container, and will then be completely full lofink, since all ofthe airhasbeen expelled by the operation of bringingthe ,lever 22 to its intermediate position after the first lling ofthesack. Y f Y f I believe I am new in providing a lever for a self-fillingpen which will have a denite intermediate position for the purpose ofexpelling all the air from the ink sack and filling the same entirelywith ink, and I wish to claim Vthe same broadly.

' I believe I am also .new in providing a iever which is kept closed bya toggle joint action caused by exerting a spring pressure approximatelyin the direction of the lever,

and I wish to claim' the same broadly. ,Iv

also believe it is novel to provide an ink barrel, a flexible saclr ofapproximately longitudinal elliptical section and a iiexiblepresser Vbaradapted to conformto said section to the end ofproviding a greater inkcapacity while keeping the same diameter of the part held by thefingers. It will be observed that the enlarged portion of the barrel ofmy im proved pen comes in the space between the thumb and first fingerand that said en-` larged portion occupiesspace whichrwould Nianymodifications may be made in the precise structure herein shown withoutdeparting fronithe spirit of my invention.

I claim: 1-

l. In a fountain pen, the combination of an elliptical casing the wallof which curves substantially from end to end of the casing, a pen, afeeding nib, an inksaek attached to said feeding nib, said ink sackbeing approximately of elliptical section similarly curving from end toend thereof, a flexible presser bar adapted to conform to the oppositecurvatures of the casing wall, and a lever for operating said presserbar to defiate said sack.

2. In a fountain pen, the combination of a pen, a feedbar, an ellipticalcasing'serving to provide a mount for said pen and feedbar the wall ofthe casing curving substanset forth.

.tially from end to lend thereof, a deflatable ink sack of approximatelyelliptical section contained within said casing similarly curverated'bysaid lever, said fiexible presser bar being'adapted to Vconform to theopposite curvatures of the casing wall. when the lever is brought tothis intermediinltsaclr for' deflating the same, and means -to operatesaid presser bar and form it convex toward said ink sack for thepurposes 4. In a fountain pen, the combination of a pen casing, aAlongitudinal slot in said casing, a lever pivoted in saidcasing,aspring, and means forholding the leverfclosed Vby exerting thereonthetension of saidspring Valong a line substantially parallel vto thepoftherein, a presser bar concave toward said f sition ofsaid lever whensaid lever is closed. i*

5. Ina fountain pen, the combination of a pen casing, a longitudinalslot thereina. lever pivoted in said slot and having one end extendingon the outside of said casing to form a handle whereby said lever may bemanually operated, Aa presser bar within the casing and adapted to bevoperated by the portion of said lever extending within said casing, andan-anti-friction Vdevice at the point of contact between said leverandsaid presser bar, and means on the lever adjacent to saidanti-friction device for holding the lever open.

6. In a fountain pen, thecombination of a pen casing, a longitudinalslot therein, a

lever pivotedin said slot and having one end extending on the outside ofsaid Ycasing to form a handle whereby said lever maybe manuallyYoperated, a presser barwithiii the casing and adapted to be operatedbythe portion of said lever extending within said casing, a roller on theend ofv said lever to operate said presser bar, anda -nose-onthe leveradjacent to said roller for holding the lever open.

7. In a fountain pen, the combination of a casing, a longitudinalislottherein, a levei' pivoted in said slot, a presser bar adapted to the endofw said casing and adapted to en-` gage a hole in said presser bar andthus give said presser bar a tendency to move longitudinally of saidcasing, an ear on said I presser bar adapted to be engaged by saidlever, the arrangement being such that when said lever is in its closedposition the engagement of the lever and ear places the spring undertension.- f- 9. Ina fountain pen, the combination of a easing,-apivotally fixed lever having a handle portion'extending en one side ofits pivot, and an operating portion extending on the other side thereof,a presser bar, a

rspring attached to said presser bar, and a lng en said presser baradapted to contact with the operatingr end of said lever to put the srino' .under tension when the lever is closed, said lug being sopositioned that when said lever is in a closed position the pivot willbe'between said presser' bar and the line of action of said spring.v

Y 10. r If-he method of fill-ing a fountain pen whichl contains adeflatable ink reservoir, said method consisting in first deflating saidreservoir, inserting the pen in an ink supply and allowing it to lill byatmospheric pressure, then turning the pen end Vfor end, partiallydeflating said reservoir and again inserting the pen in inlr andVallowing the' .sack` and means for operating the same intive position.

13.. In. a fountain pen, the combination of cluding means to givesaidpresser bar a tension to move in the direction of its lengthV forholding said operating meansin inacan ink sack, a presser bar fordeflating the sack, means for operating the same and 'a spring attachedto said bar influenced by said operating means and exerting a tensiondirected along the .length of said bar forV Vholding said operatingmeans in inactive position.

14. In a fountain pen, theV combination of a casing, an ink sack, apresser bar for de- Hating said sack, a spring'attachedto said bar andexerting a tension directed along the length of said bar, andv a.leverpivotally fixed to operate said bar, the arrangement ofthe spring,presser bar and lever being suclrthat when said lever is in its closed iposition the tension of saidspring transmitted through said bar in `adirection par- `allel to 4the length'of said vbarvliolds said lever incontact with thecasing.

15. In a fountain pen,thecombination of a casing, a deflatable sackcontained therein, apresser bar fordeflating said sack, a lever'pivotally fixed in thecasing for operating said presser bar, anda springoperative on said lever and presser bar, the arrangement -of lever,presser bar and spring .being such that starting with the lever in anopen posiT tion, actuation of the', lever firstincreases the tension ofthe spring until'the lever has reached a' certain point vand then.further motion of the lever decreases the tension of the spring.

16. In a fountainpen, the combination of a easing, av defiatablefinksa'cl contained therein, a presser bar for deflating said ink` sack,means to give said presser bar a tendency to move in the'v direction ofits length, a lug on said presser bar, a lever spaced from .said lugwhen open but adapted to contact with said lug in closing, thearrangement of said presser bar, lug and lever being such that said`presser bar and Alever'form the element ofa toggle joint. i f

17. InaV fountain pen, a combination of a casing, a'lever pivoted insaid casing, said lever having a handle portion on'one side of its pivotand an operating portion on the ether side of its pivot, a deflatableink sack in said casing, a presser bar for operating said ink sack, aspring giving said presser bar a tendency to move in the direction ofthe length of said bar, and means mounted on said presser barV adaptedt0 Contact with the operating end of said lever tor'enden said springeffective in holding the handle of said lever firmly against said casingwhen said lever is in itsclosed position, but to separate 'from contacttherewith to render said spring ineffective on said lever when.

said lever is in its open position.v

In witness whereof I have hereuntol subscribed my name. A Y

' orniRLEsi-. KEERAN.

